The Maine supreme court heard arguments today in an appeal by Nicole Maines and her family that seeks to have her discrimination lawsuit reinstated.

BANGOR, Maine (AP) _ Lawyers for a transgender student and a school that required the fifth-grader to use a staff bathroom instead of the girls' restroom differ over whether the girl's rights were violated.

The Maine supreme court heard arguments Wednesday in an appeal by Nicole Maines and her family that seeks to have her discrimination lawsuit reinstated.

A Superior Court judge previously ruled that the Orono school district acted within its discretion by requiring her to use a staff bathroom after there was a complaint.

After Wednesday's hearing in Bangor, the student, who's now 15 and attending a high school in southern Maine, said she hoped the justices understand the importance of going to school, getting an education and making friends without having to be "bullied'' by other students or school administrators.